I have a 2004 with 80,000+ miles.

What happened? Last week my car was unable to start, so I towed it to the deal er and they said it was probably flooded. They showed me the quick fix - takingv out the fuel pump fuse, etc.. - (did not charge me anything), soon the car started, and me and a service rep went around the block to make sure all was right. It was and soon I went home. Next day in the morning same problem, tried to fix it using the technique as demonstrated to me, but i didnt want to push it too much out of fear of causing more damage/, so AGAIN i had it towed to the dealer (thank god the tow truck driver is a friend of the family and only charges me for fuel.)

Dealer calls me up today, and told me I need new coils, spark plugs, and a starter. I said to do the coils and plugs, but not the starter, because I dont believe the starter was the issue.The starter sounded normal its just the engine wouldnt crank up. Im no mechanic, but I am not an idiot and i know what the starter is supposed to do, so to me it couldnt be that, but just another way the dealer was trying to rape me.

Today, I have been reading the forums and apparently there was a TSB for the starter. I was never told of this so my question is...

If the TSB was issued before my car's general warranty expired, and the service was never performed on my car, what remedies do I have?

Also,I have been trying to find a copy of the TSB, but the link that i found about the TSB on this forum from finishlineperformance.com is dead, so does anyone else have another link where i might find it???


Anybodys help would be greatly appreciated.

 

One more note:
I have only one or two times (none of them within the last 8 months) have turned off the engine cold. I was well aware of the flooding issues that rotary have, when i bought the car, so i know it was not cause by starting and suddenly turning off the engine.

 

A TSB is just the service bulletin, it is not a recall or guarantee that they will replace the starter free if you are out of warranty. What it is is a notice to the dealers on how to deal with a specific issue if there is a complaint about slow starts/flood. I still have the original ("slow" spinning) starter in my 04 with no problems. Unlikely that they will replace it for free just because there is a TSB.

Have you had your plugs changed before? Plugs in the 8 are typically a 30-40K mile replacement so that could cause poor performance/flood. Bad coils can also cause problems. Shutting the 8 down when the engine isn't at normal operating temp is the most common cause of floodiing (so always fully warm up the car, no back out of garage and shut down to wash, etc).

As far as the starter, the original starter is weak but I have always found it able to start the car in even the coldest weather as long as I have a good, fully charged battery. (Is your battery the original?) Before I would pop for a new starter I would put a new and higher capacity battery in it. Hope that this helps.